Book Review - The Nigerian Mafia Mumbai by Onyeka Nwelue

 

 

 The Nigerian Mafia: Mumbai by Onyeka Nwelue

•                     ISBN: 978-1739276775

•                     Published by: Abibiman Publishing U.K.

•                     Year of publishing: 2023

 

Book Blurb

Nollywood actor, Uche Mbadiegwu leaves his Surulere neighborhood in Lagos, to Bandra in Mumbai to join Bollywood, so he could make it big, hoping to play exceptional roles.

Like a flash, Periwinkle appears in his life and changes everything. Tired of living in a pigsty, Efemena wants to live a life of independence, but there is more to being a Nigerian in Mumbai - a constant escape from the Indian police and narcotics agents.

This novel is a tale of violence, drugs, human trafficking, murder, and sex. www.bookbot.in

 

About the Author

Onyeka Nwelue, born in 1988, is a Nigerian scholar who has had esteemed positions in academia in African studies at two of the world’s most prestigious universities, the University of Oxford and the University of Cambridge. www.bookbot.in

 

His crime fiction, “The Nigerian Mafia: Mumbai,” is the first installment in a 10-book series, which has gone on to be longlisted for the 2023 Chinua Achebe Prize and shortlisted for the 2023 ANA Prose Prize. It’s being developed for film by Indian filmmaker, Ramesh Raparthy.

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Book Links

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Praise for Onyeka Nwelue

Described by Sri P. T. Narendra Menon as "one of Africa’s youngest writers," Onyeka Nwelue's unique writing style and brilliance have earned him critical acclaim. With over 20 award-winning books to his name, Nwelue stands as one of Africa's most prolific and promising writers.

Praise for the book www.bookbot.in

 “Onyeka Nwelue is Africa’s literary boy-wonder.”- Nury Vittachi, Author of Goodbye Hong Kong, Hello Xianggang

“An unusual noir thriller and worth a look for those interested in seeking crime tales based in other countries.” -Run Along The Shelves

“The Nigerian Mafia: Mumbai, was an interesting portrait of an expat group of Nigerians abroad!” - Annabel

Accolades

• The Nigerian Mafia: Mumbai has been longlisted for the 2023 Ana Chinhua Achebe Prize.

• It is also shortlisted for the 2023 Ana Prose Prize.

• The Nigerian Mafia Mumbai is being developed for film by Indian filmmaker, Ramesh Raparthy

My Review: 

         I live in an area in Mumbai, wherein there is a predominating Nigerian community, which has been constantly increasing for the past couple of years (My area is also mentioned in the book if anyone wants to take a guess). Sometimes when I come across Nigerians, I look at the ladies in awe; for their physique, their braided hairstyle, the way they speak Hindi, their heavy and strange voice, or the way they walk without giving a damn to the stares they get. Whereas, whenever the men pass by, a strange kind of fear strikes my mind, don’t know why. Is it their voice, their tall and dark features? But, after I read “The Nigerian Mafia - Mumbai” I feel for them, for the mistreatment they must have met, for being misunderstood, and for their hardships. 

 

         Coming to the story, “The Nigerian Mafia – Mumbai” by Onyeka Nwelue is the story of Uche, a well-known child actor in Nigeria. He comes to Mumbai to buy fabrics which he plans to sell back in his hometown and make some money. But as fate intervenes, he ends up selling drugs and getting trapped in the underworld.

 

         Well, after reading the book, I got mixed reactions. Neither I liked it very much nor I hated it. (I will explain the reasons below for the same). 

 

Points I liked :

 

         I loved the simplicity of the language used. It is very simple and easy to understand, with no heavy use of language which is a major plus point of the author. I loved the way the author made a cameo appearance in the story like a director does in any Bollywood movie that shows his love for Bollywood. How the author has traced the journey of Uche from his hometown to Bandra is worth a read. The characters are introduced as and when the story demands and exits accordingly. Each character plays their role without cluttering the plot.

 

         I won’t say negative points as they are not but these points I found a bit hard to understand. If Uche was doing well in his hometown doing movies, he had earned well and had prospered, then why did he come to Mumbai to buy fabrics that he could sell after going back?

 

         If you are a Mumbaikar, you will understand my following point one assaults a movie director (Abhinav), a detective (Charanjeet Singh), and an FFRO official in Mumbai and, he gets away, without any action from the system or even making it to headlines, and that too if you are a Nigerian, this fact is a bit difficult to digest for me as I am a born in Mumbai. 

 

         Having said all the above points I suggest this book is worth a read. It is an eye opener for all who think Mumbai is a city of dreams and anyone can become successful and earn money as soon as one lands here. It is, but the path you take decides your fate.

           One must read this book once. Looking forward to reading the remaining parts of Uche’s journey.

Book Review - Zoe M's Call Me Saaya

Synopsis

Shamsher Singh Rathore has it all. A job he loves and a life he lives every moment. Until an untimely call from home embroils him with a woman called Saaya who proceeds to turn his orderly world upside down!

The only interest Sayana Singh Rajput had in him was the prized Sheesh Haveli. She had never believed in love until destiny threw her this impossible challenge.

What do you do when all that you believed in turns out to be a lie?

Will Shamsher be able to save his world?

Will Sayana believe in love or will she allow avarice ruin it all?

What about Saaya?

What happens when desire meets destiny?

Set in idyllic Rajasthan, Call me Saaya is the story of two souls in pursuit for true love while destiny has other plans for them.

About the Author

Zoe M lives and works in Mumbai.

She fell in love with the written word at the age of sixteen. Her affair has only matured over the years as she read stories that captivated her. Now, she uses the magic of words to help her spin her own stories. Her love of reading was born when she read The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand.

Call Me Saaya is Zoe M’s debut novel. It is a romantic tour de force that weaves in and out of metros and a forgotten, quaint village in Rajasthan, revealing stories as it goes. The novel reflects the author’s love for the unexpected and is as engaging as she is.

One can follow the Author and her works on 

Twitter |  Facebook | Instagram

My Honest Review:

Call me Saaya is Author Zoe M’s debut novel.

Call Me Saaya is the story of Sayana (Saaya) and Shamsher; their anger, their love, and their true identities. It is a romance with suspense as the background.

The author has done a nice work with the use of local lingo as the story is based in Rajasthan. The characters are well defined and the pace of the story is also good especially in the first half.

Though the author has maintained the romance part 100%, the suspense of the story is not up to expectations. Also, I felt the tug of war between the protagonists has been dragged a little too much which made the story little stretched.

Secondly, the antagonist, Ravindra Rajput Kumar, who is supposedly a vile and scheming person, how can he just disappear in the second half of the story. How come he didn’t fight back?

If one ignores the above shortcomings, one can really enjoy this light-hearted, romantic plus suspense story on a dull day, with a cup of kadak chai. It will definitely lighten your mood and bring a smile on to your face.

One can buy this book on Amazon.

I got this free review copy from Keemiya Creatives

Book Review - Manju Nambiar's Love.exe

Synopsis

If you are looking for a feel-good heartwarming love story with a happy ending, this is your right pick!

Nitya Balakrishnan, a young girl from Kerala had it all planned out. She was going to live a life of her dreams in the United States of America. And she thought she had nailed it when she was accepted into one of the best universities of the world. But cosmos had other plans and conspired to drop love.exe into her.

He came with a bang and stole her away in a breath. Love was not quite there in her agenda, but her heart wouldn’t hear of it. The human heart has its own little brain with its strange logic that remains elusive to our reasoning. For once, she just let it be, only to realize that there is no undo button.

This coming of age, beautiful tale of love, relationships and dreams would prick your soul, bring a smile to you, and tear up your eyes. A must read!

About the Author

Manju Nambiar hails from the southern state of Kerala, India. A Computer Engineer by profession, she now works in one of the leading firms in San Jose, California where she lives with her husband and daughter.

My Honest review

Love.exe is a story of a simple girl Nitya who is striving hard to fulfill her dreams and ambitions. On one hand is her dream but on the other, she is also a dutiful daughter who doesn’t want to hurt her parents, who absolutely dote on her.

Love.exe is a love story of Nitya(Neetu) and Ganapathy (Gane). The story traverses through the ups and downs of their relationship.

Love.exe is author Manju Nambiar’s second book and I enjoyed reading it. Her writing is a magic which transports you to book’s locale. Her description of a scene is so detailed that you can feel as if you can see it as if it’s right in front of you.

I love the way in which the author has described each emotion or actions of the protagonists in detail. Sometimes while reading you feel déjà vu like the part in which Nitya is reluctantly getting ready to meet Ganapathy for the first time.

Also, I liked the author’s detail knowledge of computers and constellations and also the way she has described, taking care of each and every minute details.

The book cover is apt to the book title and is also eye-catching with bright color. Error-free writing, use of simple language, lovely characters, good storyline, all makes Love.exe a must read.

You can buy the book from Amazon

(I got free review copy from Keemiya Creatives).